The invention relates to cooling enclosed power generating heat sources, and more particularly to cooling engine driven generators (gensets), especially those utilized in marine vehicles.
Engine driven generator sets include an electrical generator powered by an auxiliary engine. Because of the inefficiencies of the processes, the machinery loses a significant portion of its output energy in the form of heat generation. This heat must be dissipated so that it does not result in a loss of efficiency or even danger to those present. Therefore, various forms of heat dissipation systems are utilized.
One common system of heat dissipation for heat producing machinery is to expose the machinery to the ambient air and utilize fans to both draw air into and to expel air from the machinery. Because ambient air is normally considerably cooler than the heat generating machinery it is cooling, the system results in satisfactory cooling. An alternate embodiment of this system is to employ a liquid cooled engine in which the engine includes a jacket through which water or other coolant is circulated to dissipate heat. The generator is air cooled as before. Significant noise is created by the machinery, and heat is dissipated by the machinery, even to a certain extent when jacketed and liquid cooled, and the noise and heat are output to the ambient surroundings. The noise and the dissipated heat restrict the possible locations for the system. Thus, it is normally objectionable to place the machinery near passengers in a vehicle.